Manchester United & the world of Football will miss Sir Alex Ferguson's larger than life personality, influence & ability

Love him or loath him, Sir Alex Ferguson is universally admired & respected. His retirement at the time of winning the English Premier League again is perhaps timely but will leave a huge vacuum for Manchester United, the English game, and in fact the world of football in general.

He is generally regarded as the most successful Club Coach in the modern era & deservedly so.

Not only he has won a ton of trophies in his long illustrious career, but also he survived in the one job for 26 years. His record in the brutal world of "quick trophy at any price" of European football is simply unrivalled.

Here's Sir Alex Ferguson's record:

* St Mirren

1 Scottish First Division (second tier) title 1976-77

- -

* Aberdeen:

3 Scottish Premier League titles: 1979-80, 1983-84, 1984-85

4 Scottish FA Cups: 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86

1 Scottish League Cup: 1985-86

1 European Cup Winners Cup: 1982-83

1 UEFA Super Cup: 1983

- -

* Manchester United

13 Premier League titles: 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13

5 FA Cups: 1989-90, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1998-99, 2003-04

4 League Cups: 1991-92, 2005-06, 2008-09, 2009-10

10 Charity/Community Shields: 1990 (shared), 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011

2 Champions League: 1998-99, 2007-08

1 European Cup Winners Cup: 1990-91

1 UEFA Super Cup: 1991

1 Intercontinental Cup: 1999

1 FIFA Club World Cup: 2008

Bayern & Dortmund to contest the first ever all German Champions League Final at the home of football, Wembley

The German National Team has suffered badly in the hands of Spain (& Italy) in recent years!

Their starts & their up & coming crop of young talented internationals lost the 2006 World Cup semi final to Italy, the final of Euro 2008 to Spain, the semi final of WC 2010 to Spain, and the semi final of Euro 2012 to Italy!

Add to that Bayern's loss in the 2009 Champions League final of 2010 to Inter Milan & you get the picture!

But now, finally, Bayern & Dortmund have made amends for all that heartache with their respective gutsy, skilful & impressive displays throughout this year's Champions League.

Dortmund topped Real Madrid in the so called group of death, beating Real 2-1 in Germany &drawing 2-2 in Madrid when a last minute goal save the day for Mourinho & co. Then they (albeit) luckily but deservedly eliminated Malaga & hammered Real 4-1 in the first leg of the semi final.

Bayern on the other hand, have impressively accounted for Valencia, Juventus & Barcelona on their way to the final. No one can question the difficulty of their path in the knockout stages: Arsenal then Juventus then Barcelona.

And the German invasion of London is now complete: The first ever all German Champions League final, at Wembley, the home of football! (only Spanish & English teams have achieved that previously)

And whilst Dortmund & Bayern know each other only too well & the result will be hard to predict, this current Bayern side has been immensely impressive on all fronts this year & deserves to lift the trophy in their third final in the last four years, and particularly in light of the heartbreaking loss to Chelsea in last year's final in their home ground in Munich.

Bayern will take over the mantle of Barcelona as the greatest club team in the world & will rule European football for the next few years! As we, the Bayern supporters famously say:

Mia San Mia